Locomotive steam pipe casing



Nov. 8, 1932. H. E. RICCIUS 1,886,427

LOCOMOTIVE STEAM PIPE CASING Filed April 18, 1931 Patented Nov. 8, 1932HARRYE;RIccIUsmnMILEsoITY;Monmmx necomomvnsmnAm-rirn chsine Applicationfiled April 18,

My'invention relates to acasi'ng mo're esp'e cially intended for thelive steam pipes '1eadingfmm' the smoke-box of i a locomotive to thesteam chests; that'istosay a casing for f the 'portionsof the'steain-pipes located to the exterior of the smoke boxsh'eliand'thersteainche'sts' or valve chamber "on opposite sides of the"1ocoinotivef Theinvention has for its object the provision" of a casing so securedtothesmoke-box shell aboutthe steam pipes that air leaks intothesniokg-box'will be prevented and hence; a material saving "of "fuelobtained, while" at'the' safne time providing "for'pr'o'pjer ineulationof the'exterior steainpipe's leadlng to" the'steani chests; my inventioncontemplating a casing construction which" is independent of the steainpi aes and hence its airtight relation and 'insu' 'ating effect for thesteafn pipes will not heaffeet'ed by the constant vibrations to whichthe means are'subject during'op erati on of'alo'comotive;

' The objects and" advantages" of my improved structure will be readilycomprehended from the following detailed description'of the aecompanyingdrawing," wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation ofa 'port'ionof a moke-boand steam" chest with the steam 'pi bejprovided with iny" improvedcasing.

Figure 2 is'" a longitudinal section View takeflon'thedine 2 2 ofFigure- 1, 3 with the usual insulation ahoutth'e steam pipe oniit tedl KFigure 3 'is alongitudinal sectional View illustratin'ga modifiedapplication to a different type of steani pipe conhection with the steamchest with the steahipipeinsul'ation ofriitt df 4 Figure 4 is a crosssection ai' View taken substantially on the line" OtFigureS looliingfinthe direction of thearrowsl In the embodiment of the" invention as shown'inthefirst two figures of the drawing; 10 represents ar'p'ortion' ofthe smoke-"box of a 1o'c'oniotive and "11 aportion of one of the stea nchests orcha'mbers arranged as isusual in' jloeoniotiveconstructioni VThe live "steainfroi'n' "the" steani dome and extending forwardlj to thesin'oke bo'x of the 1931.- Serial Nb. 531;o1s.'

locomotive where it is provided with a suit abie coupling and a pair ofsteani pipes lead ingdownwardly through the 'smokehox and out throughsuitable openings adjacent to" the bottom and on opposite'sides of thesmoke s:

box for connection with the respective steam chests or valve chambers.

One ofthese" steain pipes' is shown at l2-in Figure "2 coining through-the-opening13 in the sn'ioke 'box shell 10.

Arranged on the 'interior' of the" s1noke-box shell 10', aboutfth'esteampipe 12 is an inside linerplate 14, apertii'red so as to haveconipai'atively close relation with the steam pipe and its'oute'rperimeter referably continu ously 'welded into intimate relation withthe smoke-box'sh'ell as shown at '15.

Dis osed about the exterior portionof the steam I pipe l2 and extending5 substantially throughout" the le'n'gthof the steam pipeismyimprovedcasing 16. l

The casing" 16 comprises a cylindrieal shell of materially greatefinside diameter than theoutside 'dianieter'of the steam pipe 12''- soasto provide an insulation receiving 'space 17 therebetween; and the shelladjacent to the lowerend' in proximitytq the upper'en'ds" of the bolts18-; is provided 'With' a cire'unh fe'rential outward bulge orcorrugation 19.

Whenthe casin '16 is applied-"during eon; struct'ion of the locomotiveit maybe" acon? tinuou's or "single iece'shell On' the other hand, if itis applied to-a locomotive 'in use; the "shell may beniade inhalf'sect'io'n's and the'sections then" welded together at theirlongitudinal meeting edges *to' provide an in tegral airtight joints- Y'The upper-end of theshelhis'flaredor flanged outwardly 'as shown at'20, thetflange portion extending entirely about the shelland adapted toextend-flush with-the smoke-box shell' to which it is integrally securedby weld ingentirelyaround the flangeQO as shown at 21 so as to make an.air-tight connection.

In the construction shown in Figure 2, where the steam chest inlet 22 isprovided with an annular flange 23, apertured to receive th'e variousclamping or fastening bolts 18','Iipro 'vide an annuIarpIate flwhic'h'isfirmly clamped to the'und'er-side'of the flange to permit the outerperimeter of the plate to...

extend sufficiently beyond the flange 23 to rereceive the lower end ofthe shell and at the same time enable the shell and plate to be weldedtogether continuously about the shell as shown at 25 into air-tightrelation;

It is apparent from the construction that the space intermediate of theshell and the steam pipe is hermetically sealed against inv gressof air,while at the same time the shell is without contact or connection withthe steam pipe itself. This fact is-of great importance because of thedifferences in expansion and contraction between the steampipe and theshell, as well as the difierent vibrations encountered, which would soontend to disrupt any direct connection betwen the outer casing and thesteam pipe and would then permit air leaks into the casing and hencealso into the smoke-box which would result in material loss in eficiencyof the locomotive and a consequent increase in fuel consumption.

In Figure 3 I show application of my improved shell to a slightlydifferent typeof steam chest 11 wherein the walls of the steam chest arecoincidenlywith the steam inlet 22, thus necessitating the useofscrewlo'olts 18 which screw intotapped openings in the steam chest walland hence require the fastening nuts 26 to be secured above the flange27 of the steam pipe 12. With thistype of construction, the lowerannular plate 24: is arranged on top of the steam pipe flange 27 andfirmly clampedthereto into air-tight relation by the nuts 26. The casingproper is substantially the same as that previously shown and described,with its upper end securely welded to the smoke-box shell, while thelower end rests on and is firmly welded to the plate 24 as shown at,25the shell being also preferably provided adjacent to its lowerend withthe annular outward bulge or corrugation 19 which will compensate forexpansion and vibration without subjecting the welded joints to unduestrains. 5

e In the application of my improved casing to a locomotive, the casingis preferably filled with suitable insulation or asbestos which, whenproperly applied, also prevents ingress of air as well as heatradiation; but as the insulation may be of a well known type at presentin use and in itself is not a part of my invention, for the purposes ofclarity in the drawing, I have omitted the insulation in essee? Figs. 2,3 and 4 so as to more clearly show the manner of securing the ends ofthe casing in place and the relation between adjacent chests, but suchcasings as heretofore employed consisted of separate shells, one withinthe "other, with the inner shell so formed as to necessitate attachmentof this shell at j ectionablebecause the strains and'vibrations.encountered soon resulted in breaking the welded connections andpermittedair leak age. I j

My invention, however, contemplates a casing-which is not integrallysecured tothe steam pipes nor inte rally secured to the steam chests,but wherein the shell is provided with a bottom'plate which affordsmeans for clamping or securing the shell at its lower end withoutnecessitating welding the lower end" of the casing to thesteam pipe orto the inlet hub or portion of the steam chest and hence providesgreater flexibility and takes care of the vibrations to which theseelements of. a

locomotive are subjected while at the same time providing a constantseal and insulation covering throughout the lengths ofthe steam plpes.

I have shown and described my improved casing provided with an annularbulge or corrugation 19, but this corrugation may be omitted because theannular plate at the bot tom ofthe casing extends sufliciently beyondthe 'flange to which it is clamped to permit flexing and thus take careofany expansion.

and contraction that might occur; and while I have shownexemplifications of the nvent1on as at present in use, modificationsniaybe made without, however, departing from the spirit of my invention.

' What Iclaim is:

1. A locomotive steam pipe casing adapted to be disposed intermediate ofthe smokebox shell and the steam chest of a locomotive and comprising asingle shell disposed throughout the length of the steam pipeandhavinga'flanged upper end arranged flushv with the smoke-box shellaboutthesteam pipe opening therein and secured in air tight'relationwith the shell; anannular flat plate adapted to extend parallel with theflange at the lower end of the steam pipe and to be held in place by thefastening bolts which secure the steam pipe to the steam chest; the

lower end of said shell seating on said plate and hermetically securedthereto in air-tight relation.

2. A locomotive steam pipe casing adapted to be disposed about the steampipes intermediate of the smoke-box and the steam chests of thelocomotive and comprising a continuous shell provided with an inwardlyextending plate integrally secured to its 3.0 lower end, the platehaving bolt receiving apertures adjacent to its inner perimeter wherebysaid casing is secured in place by the fastening bolts between the steampipes and the steam chests and the shell held in spaced 5 relation withthe steam pipe throughout its length; the upper end of the shell beinghermetically sealed to the smoke-box.

3. A locomotive steam pipe casing adapted to be disposed about the steampipes interzo mediate of the smoke-box and the steam chests of thelocomotive and comprising an annular plate adapted to be secured inplace by the bolts whereby the steam pipes are fastened to the steamchests; and a continuous shell hermetically sealed at its upper end tothe smoke-box while the lower end is hermetically sealed to said plateand the shell throughout its length held in spaced relation with thesteam pipe, said shell being provided with annular corrugation.

4:. A locomotive steam pipe casing adapted to be disposed about thesteam pipes intermediate of the smoke-box and the steam chests of thelocomotive and comprising an encompassing plate apertured adjacent toits inner perimeter to receive the bolts whereby the steam pipes aresecured to the steam chests; and a continuous shell hermetically sealedat its upper end to the smoke-box while the lower end seats on saidplate and is V hermetically sealed thereto and the shell througout itslength held in spaced relation with the encompassed elements, said shellintermediate of its ends being provided with an annular bowed portion.

HARRY E. RICCIUS.

